Automatic jack supporting and actuating mechanism



Jan. 27, 1959 F.- E. COLE 2,870,466

AUTOMATIC JACK SUPPORTING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM Origigal Filed Oct. 16, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet l Jan 1. 27, 1959 F. E. COLE 2,870,466

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AUTOMATIC JACK SUPPORTING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM Original Filed Oct. 16, 1953 1 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 F. E. COLE Jan. 27, 1959' AUTOMATIC JACK SUPPORTING AND ACTUATING MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet'G Original Filed Oct. 16, 1953 Unit States AUTOMATIC JACK SUPPORTING. AND ACTUATING MECHANISM Original application October 16, 1953, Serial:No. 386,551. gividgd and this application April 15, 1955, Serial No.

7' 'Claims. (Cl. 12-171) The present invention relates to improvements in machines for operating about the sole margin of a shoe while supported on a last, and more particularlyto an automatic machine of the type in which the shoe is supported on a jack, and in which supporting and actuating mechanism is provided for imparting positioning and feeding movements to the jack to cause the shoe to be presented properly to the operating means, and to transfer the operation about the shoe.

The present invention is a division of co-pending application Serial No. 386,551, filed October 16, 1953, for Shoe Machines in which is disclosed an automatic machine for sewing and for trimming the sewn inseam of a shoe; The illustrated machine is similar in many respects to the automatic shoe machine illustrated in the U. S. patent of Morrill, No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, for Shoe Machines.

In accordance with the disclosure of the invention the shoe fitted on a last, and mounted upon a shoe supporting jack, is presented to the shoe operating devices and is moved with relation thereto by automatic means to transfer the operation of these mechanisms about the sole margin of the shoe.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved construction and arrangement of supporting and actuating assembly for the shoe supporting jack, including the roll and pitch lever supports, which will substantially increase the range of tipping movements which may be imparted to the jacked shoe in accordance with the requirements of the most extreme lasts without risk of failure of the jack positioning devices properly to present the shoe to the operating devices.

It is another object of the invention to provide for a smoother and more efiicient operation of the reversing clutch of the machine by the operator.

,. A feature of the present invention consists in the provision of a lateral strain compensating device on the jack support assembly which acts to bias the forwardly extending jack supporting arm laterally to an intermediate or centered position and to offset or neutralize lateral strains imposed on the jack supporting mechanism by the upward thrust of the vertically disposed jack support rod as the jack spindle is swung laterally at its lower end in one or the other direction to effect pitch tipping movements of the shoe. In the illustrated machine the compensating device takes the form of a compensating rod connected at one end to the jack supporting structure and adapted to slide freely through a bearing on the machine base, and a pair of centering springs coiled about the rod. The compensating device shown has been found to be of advantage particularly when work is being done on womens shoes to offset the extreme lateral swinging movement of the jack supporting arm and jack spindle at its lower end for the pitch tipping movement of the jack required to enable the operation along the sole margin of the shoe to follow the contours of the last.

Another feature of the invention consists in the proand vision of'a flexible control handle on the eccentric driving and. reversing clutch associated with the automatic support of the machine, which is readily yieldable to avoid undue straining of the driving mechanism in the event that the control handle is moved to a reverse driving position at a time when the pattern cam followers are engaged against the drop portions of the cams.

With the above objects in view as may hereinafter appear, the several features of the invention consist also in the devices, combinations, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one-skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an automatic shoe machine adapted for sewing together the parts of the inseam and for trimming the sewn seam of a shoe supported on a jack;

Fig. 2 is a view looking from the left of the machine as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view looking from the right of the machine as shown in Fig. 2;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are similar detail views in right side elevation on an enlarged scale, illustrating particularly the eccentric, reversing and secondary driving clutches for the pattern cam shaft in different positions as determined by the position of the hand control lever shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing particularly the feed lever and associated mechanism for imparting feeding movements to the jack; and

Pig. 8 is a sectional plan view of the machine base illustrating particularly the assembly of supporting levers for the jack, the pattern cam shaft and the cam and follower connections for controlling the operation of the jack.

The automatic shoe machine illustrated in the drawings as embodying in a preferred form the several features of the invention, comprises generally a column-shaped Support or casing which is made up of several sections, including a floor section housing principally the oil sump and various foot treadle controls of the machine, a middle section 102 housing principally the jack supporting mechanism and pattern mechanism of the machine, a head section 104 housing therein the welt sewing mechanism, the inseam trimming mechanism and the driving and stopping mechanism of. the machine, and a top section 106 supporting thereon the driving motor 108 and a variable driving unit therefrom connecting with the driving and stopping mechanism.

The operating devices of the machine include a chainstitch shoe sewing mechanism having a curved hook needle movable in the line of feed, an oscillatory looper 123 and a thread finger which is movable in a direction substantially parallel to the line of feed and away from the trimming knife of the machine, these parts being located entirely at that side of the sewing point away from the completed stitches of the seam to cooperate with a rotary tubular knife which is of relatively large size with its axis parallel to the line of feed and with the cutting edge of the knife passing transversely across the sewn inseam.

The jacked shoe is guided in position with relation to the several operating devices during the transfer of the operation aboutvthe sole margin of the shoe by means of a channel guide 133 which is arranged to ride in a stitch receiving channel and support the shoe againstv the needle, and the cooperating welt guide designated at which yield'i'ngly engages. against and is periodically locked against the outer edge of the shoe.

In the illustrated machine, the shoe supported on a gar ens last is mounted on the shoe supporting jack which may be of well known construction as that illustrated, for example, in the patent to Cross No. 2,056,714, dated October 6, 1936. The jack indicated generally by the reference character 141 comprises a toe supporting arm 142 rigid with a spindle 14-4 and a heel supporting arm 1% pivoted at its lower end on the upper end of the spindle 144. The jack is carried on a forwardly extending arm 148 forming part of the automatic supporting and actuating mechanism for the jacked shoe hereinafter again referred to in connection with the description of the matic shoe support provided with the present machine.

In accordance with the usual construction of automatic shoe machines of the general class described, as illustrated for example in the United States patent to Morrill, No. 2,359,662, dated October 3, 1944, for Shoe Machines, the driving and stopping mechanism of the machine includes a main driving motor, a main driving clutch, a branch drive therefrom for driving the sewing mechanisms, a second branch drive for driving the automatic shoe support including the pattern cam shaft, and an auxiliary one-revolution eccentric driving machanism which is rendered operative in stopping the machine to complete the rotation of the pattern cam shaft through one revolution, and to perform certain other auxiliary operations incidental to the stopping of the machine. Further in accordance with the usual practice in machines of this general description, the rate of drive of the pat tern cam shaft is adjusted to the rate of drive of the sewing mechanism and automatic means are provided for further regulating the rate of drive of the pattern cam shaft in accordance with the size of the shoe being operated upon, so that stitches of even length will be formed as the operation is transferred about the sole margin of the shoe.

in the illustrated machine the electric motor 103 is connected through a variable speed transmission unit 152 of which the input shaft 154 is connected to be driven at a constant rate from the motor 168 by means of connections comprising a downward extension 174 of the armature shaft of the motor and a coupling 176.

The output shaft 156 of the variable speed transmission unit 152 carries a gear 178 which meshes with a gear 180 carried on a sleeve element together with a second gear 132, so that the two gears turn as a unit. The eccentric drive shaft of the machine indicated at 184 (see Figs. 3 and 7) is mounted directly beneath the gears 180, 132 and is connected to be driven therefrom by means of a planetary transmission. The gear 182 meshes with a gear 126 formed integrally with an external coned clutch member 138 which is mounted between end thrust ball hearings on a vertical shaft 19% and forms the driving element of the main driving clutch of the machine. These parts are driven continuously.

The cooperating driven element of the main driving and stopping clutch comprises an internal coned clutch member 392 keyed to turn with and to slide on the drive shaft. The driven member 192 of the main starting and stopping clutch is arranged through its splined connection with the vertical drive shaft 190 to drive the pattern mechanism of the machine including the pattern cam shaft. The driven clutch member is also connected to drive the sewing cam shaft of the machine, designated at 196, through the meshing engagement of a spiral gear 198 formed on the outer periphery of the driven clutch member 1 3 2 with a spiral gear secured to the sewing cam shaft 196.

The pattern shaft of the machine generally designated at 292 is driven from the main starting and stopping clutch through connections, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, which include the clutch member 192 and vertical driving shaft 1%, a secondary clutch, a variable speed mechanism and a reduction gear train which may be of ordinary description. The drive shaft 190 is connected at its lower end through a ratchet toothed clutch to drive a stud shaft 204 in axial alignment therewith. The sec ondary clutch referred to comprises a driven clutch element 206 (see Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6) keyed to turn with and to slide axially upon the drive shaft for engagement with a cooperating clutch member 208 fast on the shaft 2% to which is secured a driving ratchet 210 forming part of a variable speed driving mechanism for the pattern cam shaft 202. Since this variable speed driving mechanism is well known in the art, no specific description of it is believed necessary. The driven element of the variable speed mechanism comprises a downwardly extending sleeve member 212 which is connected by reduction gearing, generally indicated in Fig. 2, to drive the pattern shaft 202 and includes a gear 214 formed in the lower end of the sleeve 212, and a gear 216 meshing therewith carried on a stud shaft 218. Thence the drive is taken through a gear 220 on the stud shaft 218 which meshes with a gear 222 on a vertical drive shaft 224. Also mounted on the shaft 224 are a number of driving gears 226 which mesh with a gear 228 on the pattern shaft 202 in any of its vertically adjusted positions.

The drive for the one-revolution eccentric which is employed in stopping the machine to perform a number of auxiliary operations, and also the reverse drive for the pattern cam shaft 202, are taken from the lower end of the vertical drive shaft 134 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6) which, as above noted, is continuously driven from the sleeve unit, including gears 18th, 182 acting through a planetary gear train generally indicated at 230 (Fig. 3). The onerevolution eccentric driven from shaft 184 comprises an eccentric cam 232 (see Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive) fitted with an eccentric strap 234 and loosely sleeved to turn on a bushing support 236 for the shaft 184. The eccentric earn 232 is driven from the shaft 184 through an eccentric and reverse driving clutch member 238 which is keyed to the shaft and is axially movable thereon. Upward movement of the eccentric clutch member 238 to engaging position with clutch teeth 240 formed on the under face of the eccentric cam 232 causes the eccentric to be driven from the drive shaft 184. For driving the pattern cam shaft in a reverse direction, the clutch member 238 is arranged to be moved downwardly into engagement with a ratchet-toothed clutch element 244 having formed integrally therewith a pattern shaft reverse driving gear 246 which meshes with the gear 220 forming part of the driving gear train for the pattern cam shaft 292.

The mechanism for controlling the positions of the eccentric and reverse driving clutch member 233 and of the pattern cam shaft secondary clutch 296, except as hereinafter specifically pointed out, is similar to that shown in the above-mentioned prior Patent No. 2,359,662, including a forked clutch shifting lever 24-8 (see Figs. 4 and 6) having rollers which engage in an annular groove 25% in the eccentric clutch member 238. A second clutch shifting lever 252 similarly carries rollers which engage in an annular groove 254 in the clutch member 206.

The position of clutch shifting lever 252 is determined for each of a number of positions of clutch shifting lever 248 by means of a forwardly extending arm 256 formed on the sleeve hub of lever 248 and provided at its forward end with a laterally extending roller 269 which engages in a V-shaped notch 262 formed in a downward exten sion of the secondary clutch shifting lever 252. Movement of the clutch shifting lever 24% in each direction is limited by a connection with a control rock shaft 264 on which the lever 248 is pivotally supported, said connection comprising a cross pin 266 in the shaft which extends upwardly through a slot in the sleeve hub of the lever 248. The control rock shaft 264- and pin 266 are shown in Fig. 4 in an intermediate running position in which the clutch shifting lever 24% is shiftable by the usual automatic controls of the machine from the ec centric drive position shown in Fig. 4 to alternative s a -tee machine running and machine stop positions within the range of movement allowed by the width of the slot. Figs. 5 .and 6 show alternative positions of the control rock shaft 264, .the clutch shifting lever 248 in Fig. 5 being moved downwardly to its pattern cam shaft reverse driving position and in Fig. 6 being moved upwardly to a pattern cam shaft stop position in which all of the clutches shown are disengaged. The position of the control rock shaft 264 is controlled by means of a hand lever secured to the end of the shaft 264 at the right side of the machine.

A feature of the invention consists in the novel construction of the manual control for the pattern cam shaft clutches above described, to eliminate any possibility of injury or excessive wear in the mechanism in the event that the manual control is forcibly held in its reverse driving position against a block produced by movement of a sharply angled drop portion of one of the pattern cams against its follower.

The means provided to this end comprises a yielding connection in the form of a flexible manual control lever 2.68 (see Figs. 1 and 2) attached to the control rock shaft and arranged for a limited movement downwardly from the intermediate running to the reverse position in a guide slot 270 formed in a bracket 272 through which the control lever projects at the right side of the machine. The amount of force which can be applied to engage the tapered ratchet teeth of the reversing clutch 244, as shown in Fig. 5, is thus exactly determined by the strength of the flexible control lever. In the event that a block is encountered while the hand lever 268 is depressed to drive the pattern cam shaft in the reverse direction, the reversing clutch member 238 is permitted to move upwardly against the yielding pressure exerted by the hand lever 26%, and the tapered teeth of the reversing clutch member to ride over one another until the hand lever is released by the operator. It will be noted that the upper portion of the slot 270 is oifset from the lower portion to permit the latching of the control lever in the intermediate running position of Figs. 3 and 4 against the pressure of a spring 274, which tends' to move the control lever 268 upwardly to the intermediate running position, and if the control lever is then moved slightly to the right, still farther upwardly to the pattern cam shaft throw-out position illustrated in Fig. 6.

The shoe supporting jack comprising the toe support 142, heel support and spindle 144 are mounted for turning, tipping and feeding movements on a lever supporting assembly (see Figs. 13 and 8) which includes the forwardly extending arm 148, a pitch support lever 280 on which the arm 148 is mounted to swing vertically, and a roll support lever or frame 282 pivotally mounted at its lower end in the machine base so as to be capable of swinging about a horizontal axis, and upon which the support lever 280 is mounted so as to swing about a substantially vertical axis. These parts are so arranged as to permit free rotational movement of the jack and its supporting spindle 144 on its gimbal joint, and for imparting forward and back or roll tipping movements and longitudinal or pitch tipping movements to the jack to properly position the shoe with relation to the shoe operating devices, including the inseam sewing mechanism, and the inseam trimming knife, as the point of operation is transferred about the shoe.

The several elements of the lever supporting assembly for the jack are controlled and actuated to impart the required turning, tipping and feeding movements to the jack by means of follower connections and pattern actuating cams mounted on the vertically extending pattern shaft 202 which is disposed rearwardly of the jack supporting assembly in the machine (see Figs. 2, 3 and 8). Thismechanism, which is in general similar to that illustrated. and described in the patent to Alfred R. Morrill, 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, will be briefly described as follows:

Feeding movements are imparted to the shoe by means of the feed lever 284 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7) located on the left side of the machine outside of the machine casing,- and pivotally supported at its rear end for lateral swing= ing movements on a cross pin 285 on a lateral rock shaft 286 journaled in a bearing at the rear of the machine. At its forward end the feed lever 284 is connected by means of a curved link 287 with the toe support 142 of the jack.

Longitudinal pitch tipping movements are imparted to the jack by means of a pitch cam lever 288 (see Figs. 3 and 8) supported adjacent the lower end of pivot shaft 290 and having intermediate its length an offset portion forked to receive a cam roller 292. for engagement with a cooperating pitch cam 294 on the pattern cam shaft. The pitch cam lever is connected by a forwardly extending link 296 to a lateral extension of the support 280, the connection between the link 296 and the support 280 being located substantially on the line of centers of the pivot bearings 298, 300 of the frame 282.

Forward and back or roll tipping movements are imparted to the jack by means of a roll cam lever 302 (see Figs. 3 and 8) supported on the pivot shaft 290 above the pitch cam lever 288, and having a roller 304 which engages with a co-operating roll cam 306 on the pattern cam shaft 202. The roll cam lever 302 is connected by a link 308 to an intermediate portion of the frame 282, this connection being located substantially on a vertical line of centers of the bearings 310 for the support 280' in the frame 282. As best shown in Fig. 8, the roll support lever 282 takes the form roughly of an L within which the pitch support lever 280 is mounted to turn. The axis of rotation of the pitch support lever 280 intersects the axis of rotation of the roll support lever 282, and has its lower bearing located substantially beneath the rotational axis of the roll support lever 282.

The mechanism for imparting turning, movements to the jack comprises. a turn cam lever 314 supported on the pivot shaft 290 above the roll cam lever 302, and is provided with a roller 316 arranged to engage with a cooperating turn cam 318. A forward extension of the turn cam lever 314 has formed thereon a gear segment 320 which meshes with a pinion 322 (see Figs. 2, 8) carried on the upper end of a cone-shaped pulley member 324. R0- tational movement is imparted to the jack from the pulley member 324 by means of a cord 330 which is secured at one end to a pulley 332 formed on the lower end of the member 324, and thence passes around an idler pulley 334- on the frame 282, an idler pulley 336 on the support 280, an idler pulley 338 on the jack supporting arm 148, Y

and around a Wheel 340 supported to turn with the jack spindle 144. Thence the cord extends rearwardly over an idler pulley 342 and downwardly to a weight 344, which serves to maintain an adequate tension on the cord.

Feeding movements are imparted to the feed lever 284 by means of a link 346 connected with a second link 348 which is in turn connected to the forward extension of a feed cam lever 350 supported on the pivot shaft 290. A feed cam roller 352 on the lever 35th engages a feed cam 354 on the pattern cam shaft of the machine. Links 346 and 34S are arranged at an acute angle with relation to one another, being pivotally connected together by a pivot pin 356, and to the free end of a double link 358 which serves as a guiding link for the pivotal connection 356 of the links 34-6, 348. The link 358 is fulcrumed at 360 on a fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 mounted to turn on an axis 364. Motion is transmitted from the feed cam lever through links 34 8 and 346 to the feed lever 284, the extent of this motion being determined in accordance with the direction of movement imparted to the pivotal connection 356 of the guiding link 358. The fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 is held in locked and adjusted position during the operation on the shoe by mechanism comprising a laterally extending rod 366 connected at one end by means of a connecting pin 36% to the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362, and at its other end arranged to be engaged by a locking device indicated in part at 370 in Fig. 7.

In accordance with the disclosure of the Morrill Patent No. 2,359,662, dated October 3, 1944, referred to, a yieldably acting device is provided for extering a force on the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362, and on the feed connections generally tending to move the fulcrum carrying frame lever 362 toward one limit of its adjustn and to keep the feed cam lever 350 in engagement i its cam.

The means employed, as shown in Fig. 7, comprises a metal strap 396 which is anchored at one end to the feed lever 284, extending laterally around a wheel carried on a fixed pivot, around a pulley 4% carried on a re: ward extension 402 of the fulcrum carrying frame lea r 362, and thence by additional pulleys to the sprin tensioning device generally indicated at 401 in Fig. 8.

In the illustrated automatic machine, mechanism is provided which is adapted to impart an additional increment of feeding movement to the feed lever 284 further to advance the shoe after the several operations associated with the discontinuing of the sewing operation have been performed, but before the shoe has been released from its position in engagement with the channel guide, and while the jacked shoe remains under control of the pattern cams.

The added increment of advancing movement is imparted to the feed lever 284 by connections which are actuated by the stop motion eccentric, and which are similar to connections illustrated in the patent to Morrill, No. 2,529,095, dated November 7, 1950, above referred to. These connections include briefly a bell crank lever 403 which is pivotally mounted at 404 on the feed lever 284 and is connected by a ball and socket joint with the feed link The bell crank 463 is connected by link 405 with a second bell crank 406 on the feed lever, which is arranged to be acted upon by a pin 407 vertically movable along the axis of rotation of the feed lever 2 54. Pin 407 in turn is arranged to be acted upon by a cammed end surface of a link 498, the other end of which is pivotally connected to one arm of the bell crank 409. Another arm of the bell crank 409 is connected by a link 4-19 with an arm 411 on the eccentric actuated rock shaft 413.

Rotation of the stop motion eccentric when the machine is stopped, acting through the connections above described, will cause the bell crank 403 to move about its pivot 404, thus causing the feed lever 284 to be moved laterally to the dot-and-dash position of Fig. 7.

The jacked shoe is forced yieldingly upwardly into operating position with relation to the shoe sewing mechanism during the operation about the shoe and is then moved positively downwardly out of engagement therewith in stopping the machine, by mechanism which comprises a vertically extending jack supporting rod (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3) connected at its upper end by means of a universal joint with the underside of the jack supporting arm 148, and at its lower end by means of anothe universal joint to the forwardly extending arm of a bellcrank lever 414 which is loosely supported to turn on a pivot shaft 415. A pair of heavy tension springs 416 connected at one end to the downwardly extending fork arms of bell-crank 414 and at their other ends to the machine frame, tend to move the lever 414 and supporting rod 412 upwardly to maintain the jacked shoe yieldingly in engagement with the sewing-mechanism.

The mechanism for controlling the operation of the jack includes a toggle mechanism which is arranged to be moved to a straightened position in stopping the machine to move the bell-crank lever 434- and jack supporting rod downwardly to move the jacked shoe out of engagement with the sewing devices. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the toggle mechanism comprises pivotally connected toggle arms 4-13 and 420,

the toggle arm 418 being pivotally connected to the bellcrank lever 4M, and the toggle arm 420 being secured to a laterally extending rock shaft 422. Abutting stop surfaces formed on the rear side of the toggle arms 418 and 32% are arranged to support the toggle arms in their stra JiEiCiDB'Zl locking position. A tension spring 4-24 connected at its forward end to the toggle arm 420 and at its rear end to a point on the bell-crank lever 41 tends to rock the toggle arms rearwardly to break the toggle. The tension of this spring, however, is insufficient to break the toggle until it has been moved from its locked position to a substantially straightened and overbalanced position. This mechanism, including the toggle arms 418 and 420 and spring 424, is so arranged that a downward pressure or jiggling action on the jack applied by the operator when jacking a new shoe through its action to straighten the toggle will serve to break the toggle and allow the shoe to be forced upwardly into position against the sewing mechanism by the springs 416 acting on the bell-crank lever 414.

The toggle is straightened automatically when the machine is stopped in order to move the jacked shoe downwardly away from the sewing mechanism by means of connections which include a vertically extending control rod 426 which at its lower end passes through an aperture in a forwardly extending arm 428 formed integrally with the sleeve hub of the toggle link 420.

A collar 43f) supported on the lower end of the toggle control rod 426 by means of a pair of check nuts is rendered operative by upward movement of the toggle control rod to engage with the under side of the arm 428, and to move the toggle to its straightened position. The toggle control rod, as best shown in Figs. 2, 3, is connected to a third arm 432 of the bell-crank lever 409, another arm of which is connected by the link 410 with the eccentric stop motion of the machine. Inasmuch as this mechanism is fully described and illustrated in the Morrill Patent No. 2,359,662 above referred to, and forms specifically no part of the present invention, further illustration is believed unnecessary and is omitted herefrom.

in the operation of the automatic mechanism above described for imparting positioning and feeding move ments to the jacked shoe, difficulty has been encountered in causing this mechanism to operate properly on shoes fitted upon certain extreme styles of lasts. It has been found, for example, that in the sewing of womens shoes having a high instep, an extreme pitch or lengthwise rocking movement of the shoe is required with relation to the operating devices, which has the effect of throwing the swivel mounting for the jack spindle 144 to an extreme position either to the right or to the left of the center line of the machine as viewed generally in Fig. 1. When this condition arises, it has been found that the upward thrust of the jack supporting rod 412 under the pressure of springs 4116 loses a major portion of its effectiveness to support the shoe against the channel guide, but tends rather still further to accentuate the tipping movement imparted by the contour of the pitch tipping cam 294, with the result that the shoe tends to be moved away from its correct operating position.

In order to correct this difficulty and to provide a jack supporting actuating structure which is more readily adapted for operation upon a maximum range of lasts, including the most extreme styles in womens shoes which may be encountered, the present invention contemplates the provision of a compensating mechanism which is well adapted to cooperate with the jack supporting levers and supports above described to maintain at all times a substantially evenly applied upward pressure of the jacked shoe against the positioning devices of the machine including the channel guide, which is unaffected by lateral swinging movements of the jack supporting arm 143 from the centralized forwardly extending position shown, for example, in Fig. 8. This mechanism comprises specifically a control rod 440-which has'a swivel connection 442 with the jack supporting rod 412 near its upper end andis arranged to slide freely in a bearing provided by a swiveling member 444 supported in a bracket 44'6" bolted to the-right side of the machineframe. The: rod 440 provides. a. support fora-pair of centering springs 448, 45% which are disposed at opposite sides of the bracket 446 and tend to maintain the jack supporting arm148 in. the intermediate or centered. position shown in Fig. 8.

The spring 448 coiled about rod 440 is arranged to engage at one end against a washer 452 slidably supported on the rod for engagement with the bracket 446 and at its other end to engage a nut 454 fixed to the rod 440. The spring 456 coiled about the rod 440 is arranged at one end to engage against a washer 456 loosely sleeved on the rod for engagement against the right-hand side of the bracket 446, and at its outer end to engage against a washer 4555 supported by check nuts 460 adjacent the free right-hand end of the rod 44%. Movement of the jack supporting arm 14-8 in either direction from its centered position by unbalancing the centering springs 448, 450 acts to bias the rod 440 in a direction to turn the supporting arm to its central position. The springs 448 and 450 are of such strength as to exert a return pressure upon the arm 148 which is substantially equal to and increases in the same proportion as the lateral thrust of the jack supporting post 412 and springs 416, as the jack supporting arm 143 and lower end of the jack spindle are moved laterally under the influence of the pitch tipping cam away from their centered position.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a construction embodying several features of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. In a shoe machine having means for operating upon a shoe, a shoe supporting jack, an assembly of supports on which the jack is carried, a feed lever connected with the jack, a pattern cam shaft and cam and follower connections with said supports and feed lever for imparting tipping, turning and feeding movements to the jack to transfer the point of operation of the operating means about the sole margin of the shoe, driving mechanism for the pattern cam shaft including a pattern cam shaft forward driving clutch, and a reversing clutch having driving and driven reversing clutch members relatively shiftable between engaged and disengaged positions and having engaging surfaces cammed to urge the clutch members to the disengaged position, and manual control means for said clutches comprising a manually operable lever having a flexible shank portion shiftable between forward, reverse and intermediate neutral positions, means to bias the lever to the forward position, and a control plate having formed therein a slot with a neutral stop surface and lengths in opposite directions therefrom in which the shank portion of the lever is permitted limited movement to each of said forward and reverse positions.

2. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe including shoe positioning and guiding means, a shoe supporting jack, an assembly of supports on which the jack is carried, including a swinging arm on which the jack is supported to swing about the point of operation of the operating means with the jacked shoe, an upright jack supporting rod pivotally connected with the arm, yieldable means acting against the rod at its lower end to impart an upward thrust to said rod for supporting the shoe against the shoe positioning and guiding means, and a compensating device acting upon said arm to neutralize any lateral component of the upward thrust of said rod against the arm resulting from the swinging movement of the arm and rod therewith.

3. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe including shoe positioning and guiding devices, a shoe supporting jack, an assembly of supports on which the jack is carried, including a swinging armon which=the jack is supported to swing about the point ofoperation: of the operating meanswith the jacked shoe, meansforsuppertin'gthe-jacked shoe against the shoe positioning and guiding means comprising a yieldably movable member, and an upwardly'exte'nding rod connected thereto to which isimparted a yieldable thrust action. against the armto urge the jackedshoe against said shoe positioning and guiding means, and a yieldably acting; centering device tending to swing said arm and rod to an intermediate position in which the thrust action of the rod is directed toward the shoe positioning and guiding means.

4. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe, a shoe supporting jack, an uprightly disposed jack supporting spindle, a jack supporting assembly including a forwardly extending jack supporting lever on which the spindle is pivotally and rotatably supported, a pitch lever, and a roll lever pivotally mounted one upon the other, cam and follower connections controlling the movements of said pitch and roll levers and for rotating the spindle, an upwardly extending support rod connected to the jack supporting lever, means acting against the lower end of said rod for imparting a yieldable upward thrust to said rod, and centering springs tending to locate said support rod and jack supporting lever in an intermediate position in which the thrust of the rod is directed toward the operating means.

5. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe, an automatic shoe support comprising a shoe supporting jack, an uprightly disposed jack supporting spindle, an assembly of supporting levers upon which the lower end of the spindle is supported for movement in diverse directions for imparting tipping and turning movements to the jack at the point of operation, said lever supporting assembly including a jack supporting arm and a swivel connection between the spindle and arm, means for biasing the supporting arm and shoe upwardly to maintain the shoe in engagement with the operating devices including a spring actuated lever, and a jack support rod connected between the spring actuated lever and arm, and a centering spring system arranged to bias said jack supporting arm and rod toward a neutral intermediate position in which the thrust of the rod is directed toward the operating means.

6. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe including shoe positioning and guiding means, an automatic shoe support comprising a shoe supporting jack, an uprightly disposed jack supporting spindle, an assembly of supporting levers upon which the lower end of the spindle is supported for movement in diverse directions for imparting tipping and turning movements to the jack at the point of operation, said lever supporting assembly including a horizontally disposed jack supporting arm and a swivel connection between the lower end of the spindle and arm, means for supporting the jacked shoe against the shoe positioning and guiding means comprising an upwardly biased support member, and a support rod connected between said support member and arm arranged to urge the jacked shoe against said shoe positioning and guiding means, and a yieldably acting centering device comprising a centering rod slidably supported in a hearing at one side of said arm and at one end connected with the arm and support rod, and centering springs on the centering rod disposed at opposite sides of said bearing.

7. In a shoe machine having means for operating about the sole margin of a shoe including shoe positioning and guiding means, a shoe supporting jack, an assembly of supports on which the jack is carried including a swinging arm on which the jack is supported to swing about the point of operation of the operating means with the jacked shoe, means for supporting the jacked shoe against the shoe positioning and guiding means comprising an upwardly biased support member and a jack supporting rod connected between the member and arm having a yieldable thrust action to urge the jacked shoe against the shoe positioning and guiding means, and a centering device comprising a centering rod connected to the support rod and arm and slidably supported at one side of the arm in a bearing support, and centering springs disposed on said centering rod at opposite sides of the bearing for biasing the arm and support rod to an intermediate position in which the thrust action of the rod is directed toward the shoe positioning and guiding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS France Nov. 28, 1928 

